Operation Unsolved
by Nekocin
Summary: [AU] Tezuka works with Kikumaru, trying to solve a case which is more than just a murder. Meanwhile others are working on the same case too either they're trustworthy enough to be aiding Tezuka's side or not they're from a secret agency.
1. Case 1: Operation Unsolved 1

**Operation Unsolved  
Author:** Nekocin  
**Genres: **Action, Mystery  
**Type:** Alternative Universe, Continuation?  
**Warnings: **OoC possible on Oshitari's part, OCs just a few, I promise they won't have really major roles, some not-so-lovely scenes at the beginning and some swinging here and there.  
**Pairings:** ... Not sure yet...  
**Rated:** PG13 -- R  
**Additional notes:** hints of shounen-ai, inspired by: **1)** Japanese fanarts, **2)** a picture of Kikumaru, Oishi and Tezuka in police uniform, **3)** a **Weiss Kreuz** Alternative Universe story, **4)** a **Card Captor Sakura** Alternative Universe story, **5)** a **Gundam Wing** Alternative Universe story, **6)** My own **Yuugioh** Alternative Universe stories "Haima" and its side-fics and maybe some more which I must have forgotten.  
**Disclaimer:** Tennis no Oujisama belongs to **Konomi-sensei**. He's the genius behind the scenes. I'm just borrowing his characters for this story. Of course I'll bring them back in one peace with everything attached and all... smirks  
The song "**GET FREE**" by Sasaki Nozomu Akutsu Jin also does not belong to me, neither does the lyrics.  
  
**1.  
**  
A pair of booted feet crossed the dimly lit room, carefully avoiding the splatters of blood on the carpeted floor. He was an uninvited guest. The silhouette of the uninvited guest leaned over to what had once looked like a human body.  
  
He pulled out a pair of surgical gloves.  
  
"What's your position?" A voice through his communicator sizzled softly in his ear.  
  
"Down to ten o'clock. It seems like-" he pulled away the black gloves he's currently wearing and slipped the other pair of gloves on. "-we're in luck"  
  
He picked up a half-drenched-in-blood green bandana from where it laid, nearby the corpse.  
  
"Really? Now get out of there. THEY are coming!" the voice through the communicator pointed out.  
  
As if on cue, he heard some shuffling in front of the apartment door.  
  
"Herr Schwarzgerald!" someone called out and knocked determinedly on the front door. "Herr Schwarzgerald-!"  
  
BAM!  
  
The door was kicked open. And suspiciously, the balcony's curtains danced as the night air breezed in.  
  
**XXX Operation Unsolved part 1 XXX  
**  
"Exclusive Update, 44-year-old Herr Schwarzgerald, Germany's Minister of Defense, was found dead in his apartment approximately around 23:15 PM. The police had arrived about ten minutes later after receiving a tip from an anonymous caller. This case is currently lead by Superintendent Oishi Syuichirou. So far, there's no lead to Herr Schwarzgerald's killer. Our condolences to Herr Schwarzgerald's family- szzzzzzz" Countless sizzle noises overpowered the morning news on the radio.  
That's not a surprise since it's 9:30 AM.  
  
Mrs. Inui, 54, sighed dejectedly as she looked at the clock once again.  
  
"What's that boy always doing at 9:30 AM?" she muttered under her breath while retying her apron's ribbons. "Now I've missed another one of these morning headlines" Oh well, she could always rely on her neighbour Mrs. Horio, who's known for her gossiping talent. Nothing really escapes that woman's ears when it comes to these sorts of news.  
  
TING!  
  
Breakfast's ready!  
  
"Breakfast, Sadaharu!" Mrs. Inui called out.  
  
Someone's feet shuffled noisily down the halls towards the kitchen. A disheveled-looking guy appeared round the corner, muttering something "Ii data..." as he scribbled rapidly in his notebook.  
  
"Good morning"  
  
He stopped writing and looked down at his shorter mother, his pair of glasses glinting.  
  
"Good morning. What on earth have you been doing in your room, Sadaharu? Now I've missed the morning headlines" Mrs. Inui pouted as she passed him a plate with warmed up sandwiches.  
  
"Just working, mother. Most of my working equipment disturb the radio signals the radio is getting" he nibbled absently on his sandwich, while resuming his writing in that green notebook of his.  
  
Mrs. Inui sighed again, wiped her hands on the apron and took her place at the kitchen table.  
"Can you explain to me what kind of work you're doing? You always come with new notebooks to write in, there's also the case of technical difficulties with our electronics, more strange envelopes on our doorstep and even more strangers stopping by without giving me their names..." Mrs. Inui complained considerably.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to give away... information... Company's orders. But don't worry about the technical difficulties. I'll be sure to use a different satellite next time. But there's 80 chance of buying another one though-"  
  
He paused in mid-sentence.  
  
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!  
  
His pager went off. It's time for work.

* * *

"Syusuke, there's a call for you from Miss Kujaku, the Model" A woman called out from behind the black screen door, which was the only exit of the 'Red' Room.  
  
With a laid-back smile and closed eyes, Fuji Syusuke looked up from the pictures he'd been busy developing for the last few minutes.  
  
"Ah. I'm busy with my stuff at the moment so could you tell her to call me at some other time, please? Thank you." he looked down at the wet pictures in the sink and carefully picked them out one by one with a pin.  
  
"She won't be happy with the delay of her call again, Syusuke" his sister commented behind the black screen as the sound of footsteps padded away.  
  
"I guess she should be..." he said slowly to himself and hung the wet pictures on a clothesline above his head to dry. As he dried his hands, he let out a satisfied sigh. His attention trailed towards a lonely-looking photo camera on the farthest counter of the sink unlike his other prized camera which was safely tuck in his room.  
  
At last he reached out to the camera and held it close, his smile disappeared.  
  
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!  
  
His pager went off.  
  
Right on time.  
  
"Nee-san, Yuuta! I'm off to my -other- work" he called out, slipping into his usual friendly smiling face as he stepped out of the 'Red' Room.  
  
"Again? Why did you even become a Professional Photographer when you already have a job -or whatever your work is, Aniki?" Yuuta, his brother, commented out loud as soon as he saw his older brother head towards the shop's second exit.  
  
Actually, it's the other way around, he mused inwardly. He's a Professional Photographer first before taking a second job- the one he shouldn't be telling his family about, because of company rules.  
  
"Aww, how sweet of you worrying about aniki's well being, Yuuta. I'll treat you on our date tonight, okay?" The big brother's smile widened as he reached for the handle of the exit door.  
  
Yuuta sputtered in surprise while 'nee-san shook her head lightly muttering under her breath "My family has issues".  
  
The second child of the Fuji family slipped into his sister's prized, but old car, put on his the seatbelt and drove off towards the center of town.

* * *

"... so far there's no lead to Herr Schwarzgerald's killer-" the reporter's voice was cut off as soon as the station's changed to a different station.  
  
**_Uwabe dake no shinraikan wa kureteyaru  
Hitori koko ni yume wo funde susumu yo  
_**  
The familiar music beat echoed in the car; it's one of the hits of some popular boys' group called... something, something Shounan or was it Yamabuki?  
  
**_Na bakari no kizuna to ka Gensou no ai Kawasenai  
Kyo bakari no Re: MAIL ourai Sore ga sonzai no imi ka?  
GET FREE... GET FREE...  
_**  
Echizen Ryoma didn't care as long as the annoying reporter's not on air.  
  
**_Mirai Risou Kibou Soko ni wa mou Kodawaru koto wa nai yo  
Kimarimonku dake no yuujouron Kudaranai bakari sa  
Nareau koto dake no anshinkan Sore ga nan'ni naru no ka?  
Iyashi ga hoshikerya kureteyaru Hitori ni nareba ii sa  
_**  
"'ch! What's the world coming to? Germany won't be happy about this" he muttered to himself as he drove his car -bought with the money he'd been saving since High school- into the busy streets of the city.  
  
**_Kokoro ni seou G wo tokihanate  
Soko ni mieru kanshou naki The only one star.  
_**  
He worked for some guy, whose name he hadn't bothered to remember, as some sort of second-in-command. There's also this job where he shouldn't have bothered to listen to the radio and there's also another job at some smiling guy's company and another- He sighed.  
  
**_Shinrai wo nozomu nara Kami ni akai uso wo tsuke yo  
Shinjiru wa jibun no kairo Dare no mono demo nai sa  
GET FREE... GET FREE...  
_**  
That day the stupid old man's too lazy to even go to work, leaving him -the only son- to do them. He didn't bother finding out with whom he'd to work on this case.  
Since Herr Sch- something- case had just been opened, Echizen had gotten the 'privilege' to work alongside that bespectacled guy... whatever his senpai's name actually was.  
  
So he's heading to the crime scene.

* * *

"Oh, what a surprise, darling!" Inspector Oshitari Yuushi, a tall man with navy blue chin-length hair, grinned readily. The pair of glasses, perched on the bridge of his nose, glinting effectively as the inspector made his way round police cars, which were parked near the sidewalk. Nearby police officers, who were trying to let the curious pedestrians move away from the suspected crime scene, didn't grant the inspector a glance.  
  
After all, the well-known ingenious inspector Oshitari wasn't even paying attention to them. The guy's simply... erm... chasing one of their colleagues -or maybe two-, who were patrolling the crime scene's main lobby.  
The inspector's known for his strange quirks; he loved to play around with people's minds. Especially when they're cute, he'd once admitted.  
  
"Unyaa! What are YOU doing here?!"  
As expected, one of the said colleagues responded in shock, while pointing a shaking finger at the inspector.  
  
Officer Kikumaru Eiji, 27, his face scrunched in honest distaste and distrust as the smiling inspector approached him, almost seductively. His deep violet eyes widened considerably when he found himself in the other's supposedly innocent embrace.  
  
"I'm done with my last case so I thought about helping out with this one. I didn't know you're stationed here too. It makes matters interesting now, doesn't it? We'll have lots of fun"  
  
"What are you doing, inspector!?" Officer Kikumaru fret and pushed himself away roughly.  
  
Oshitari's grin remained on the surface of his face; so perverted.  
  
"Did you miss me?" the mischievous grin appeared as the inspector reached out to push the officer's bangs behind his ear.  
  
The officer froze promptly and turned his helpless eyes anywhere except to the inspector.  
Help me, he wanted to squeak out.  
  
Knowing fully well about the inspector's reputation, no one in the police force thought it was a strange scene. The scene of having the inspector display his manipulative-seductive side to the police officer; the officer's colleagues feel sorry for him.  
  
As if on cue, one of the officers, who'd just came out of the building of the crime scene, grabbed the back of Kikumaru's collar and dragged him to his side.  
"Excuse me. I need my partner now" Kikumaru's savior grunted to the smirking inspector. He didn't wait for any acknowledgement and dragged his partner along with him.  
  
"I'll catch up with you later, my darling and you too, honey!" The inspector shouted out to them with a sly grin playing on his lips.  
  
Someone let out a disapproving sound.  
"Inspector Oshitari, you're impossible!"  
  
Oshitari looked at the person standing not far from him, he smirked.  
  
"Aa, superintendent Oishi, long time no see"  
  
He shook the other's hand firmly; it's a friendly greeting of two friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time.

* * *

"Unyaa" Kikumaru let out a relieved sigh and smiled up at his savior. "Thank you for relieving me from him, Tezuka nya"  
  
Officer Tezuka Kunimitsu nodded vaguely in acknowledgement as he made perfect, imposing, dignified strides into the main lobby.  
  
"I can't seem to escape him on my own accord even if my life depended on it, nya" Kikumaru let out another frustrated 'unyaa' as he absently pulled his uniform back straight. Then he stopped abruptly as if remembering something important.  
  
"Unyaaaa-!"  
  
Tezuka instantly muffled the Kikumaru's shout with his hand covering the other's mouth.  
They received some curious looks from the few people who were present in the lobby.  
  
"We're on duty. So don't even think about it!" He gave the other a piercing glare.  
  
Kikumaru whimpered and agreed silently to his partner's request. Tezuka freed him and waited for some explanation.  
  
"The inspector mentioned he was going to help investigate and since superintendent Oishi's lenient -very lenient- on those who contribute their help, he will probably make an appearance often. I'm going to be stuck with him" Kikumaru pointed out, his eyes shifting to one side and then to another, comically.  
  
"He's not going to let you get away like last time" Kikumaru said at last, looking thoughtful at his taller partner.  
  
Tezuka's poker face remained unreadable, even when his partner hinted that the inspector would be chasing him too.  
Sometimes Kikumaru wondered if Tezuka's face's muscles had stopped working at some time in the past.  
  
"Let's go. The chief wants us to keep an eye on those who are in the suspect's apartment at the moment. The substitute photographer should have arrived by now" Tezuka spoke at last and headed to the elevator with quick strides.  
  
"Hoi! Hoi! Wait up, nya!" the officer sprinted after his quick partner.  
  
"Who's it this time, nya? All of the previous ones couldn't take the scenes anymore. So what makes you think this one would come, nya? He probably heard the bloody rumors here and there" Kikumaru wondered out loud as both of them stepped into the empty elevator together.  
  
"That's why the superintendent asked for three just in case"  
  
"Three, nya? You didn't mention anything about three"  
  
"I just did"  
  
"Nyahahaha,... oh. Sorry. So do you know who the substitute is, nya? Chief always tells you these sort of neat information. Why am I not allowed to know until the very last second, nya? So mean-"  
  
Tezuka remained silent for the rest of the ride, ignoring his partner's complaining.

* * *

Echizen Ryoma stood, uninterested, near the sidewalk as he watched the active police officers -sort of- chase away curious bystanders. He's waiting for a tall guy with spiked-up hair, wearing a pair of rectangular glasses; the guy had his access card with him, since he's not really a part of the police force his stupid old man was leading in the past.  
  
"Echizen"  
  
Suddenly he was staring at some guy's chest. He looked up indifferently. Echizen's -not- amused. Why's he so short?  
  
Inui Sadaharu looked down at the shorter Echizen.  
  
"I'm late, I know. My trip had been delayed because of heavy traffic" He pushed his pair of glasses up and rummaged in his pockets.  
  
"Your pass"  
  
Echizen didn't even blink at his pass; he wordlessly took it.  
"And you are?" he said at last.  
  
"Inui Sadaharu. I hope you won't mind if a... an acquaintance tags along?" Inui responded, flipped open his notebook and started scribbling.  
  
Echizen stared at him, indifferent, not bothering to answer since his senpai's decided to let his acquaintance tag along along without his consent anyway.  
He snorted and clipped his pass on his breast pocket. He really wanted to finish this case as soon as possible, beat the said villain of the plot into a plump and get on with his life as Echizen Ryoma, whose cat's called Karupin. And who would one day beat his cocky old man.  
  
It didn't take long before,  
"Inui. It's nice of you to ask me to come along on this fine day. Look! I've brought my camera" A guy with chin-length brown hair approached them casually with a bland smile. Echizen watched him warily. The guy looked suspicious...  
  
"I've estimated that you have 86 percent chance of being late. Traffic should be heavy at this kind of hour. Hmmm. I guess I'm wrong again" Inui straightened and closed his notebook. "Echizen Ryoma, I like you to meet my acquaintance Fuji Syusuke. Fuji, this is Echizen"  
  
Echizen observed the other thoroughly and nodded slightly in greeting.  
"Uis"  
Fuji smiled pleasantly at the other; not opening his eyes, not moving around nervously under Echizen's scrutiny... just casually holding his camera.  
  
"I didn't know you were so cute, Echizen or I would have given you my Company's number for potential models" Fuji commented. Echizen stared at him blankly, looking uninterested altogether as he turned on his heels to go into the crime scene's building.  
  
"Annoyed, isn't he?" Fuji smiled at his taller acquaintance as they followed Echizen.  
  
"Aren't you as well? You hardly ever showed interest in this job. So pray tell what's your intentions?" Inui pointed out.  
"...Heh..." Fuji started evasively, still smiling for no particular reason.  
  
Their identification passes were checked carefully before they're allowed inside the main lobby.  
  
"So why are you two here again?" Echizen stepped into the elevator, followed closely by Inui and Fuji.  
  
"My chief had sent me over to note down... stuff" Inui explained slowly and whisked out his green notebook again.  
  
Fuji held up his camera. "This explains everything"  
  
Echizen nodded curtly. "I'll speak to the superintendent about lack of police force here", was all he said before ignoring his companions.  
  
Inui and Fuji shared an unreadable look that went unnoticed to Echizen. Tapping the side of his cheek lightly, Inui raised a small eyebrow. Fuji just beamed meaninglessly and put a finger on his lips -silence-. They both shared another look and quickly straightened their postures.

* * *

They'd entered the crime scene without much difficulties; officials passed them without a second glance. The room, in which Herr Schwarzgerald's body was found, was currently ransacked carefully without disturbing the evidence laying here and there. The only thing missing in this scene was the corpse.  
Several officers were walking up and down in the room, aiding the investigators silently and they never did pay any heed to the trio who'd just stepped in.  
  
Fuji instantly held his camera readily as he purposely walked alongside Echizen. "I'd like to take some pictures without anyone around, Echizen"  
  
"Do whatever you have to do", Echizen had muttered.  
  
Fuji continued to smile and looked over his shoulder at Inui. "I'm afraid you've to wait in line, Inui"  
  
"I'll see to it that you'll not be disturbed" Inui said cooperatively, instead. True to his word he'd somehow gathered all investigators, officers and Echizen outside the apartment, leaving Fuji standing.  
  
Fuji checked the lenses and then the film as he wandered the apartment. His eyes caught the sight of the unceremoniously splattered blood on the carpeted floor. Fascinating, it's as if the more the blood splattered the more red patterns it made before the victim was killed, cruelly.  
  
_Click. Click.  
_  
Fuji carefully scanned the room, mentally filing away certain little things in his mind; like the German chocolates in the fruit bowl on the table in the middle of the living-room, the white round spots in the carpeted floor, the broken vase with the scattered lavender flowers, the half-broken mirror hanging indignantly on the wall - he took pictures of them all.  
  
_Click. Click. Click.  
_  
He'd noticed the sofa being under the various scrutinizing of the investigators, who hoped to find something of the killer; a small piece of hair or a fingertip or some dirt... they're unimportant at the moment. He didn't have to take pictures of the sofa.  
  
Absently, he wandered towards every corner of the room, trying to see the crime scene in a different angle. That's until Fuji found his eyes glued on the carpeted part of the floor near the balcony.  
  
**End Operation Unsolved I**

* * *

**TheNekoTalks:  
**  
So far, I'm very sure you all notice my writing's confusing and lacks description. And some characters didn't get their age stated. :sweatdrops: And Oshitari's the most OoC of them all he looks like a pervert when he smiles like that :shifty eyes Oya, I probably shouldn't have said that :hides from Oshitari's fans: and... some things or parts probably make no sense.  
  
Thank you for having read up till this end. I hope you'll enjoy :) If not, :sigh: then... I don't know, must be my bad writing and stuff.  
  
**Smiley facecin  
**  
**Last note: I'd wanted to send this on my birthday... but I got distracted by TV MTV Awards 2004 at Miami and singing along with anime songs. AND my computer is getting wacky... it freezes more often than usual.**  
  
**Edit: **Had some typos and little errors. I apologize for the inconvenience. 


	2. Case 1: Operation Unsolved 2

**Operation Unsolved**  
**Author:** Nekocin  
**Genres:** Action, Mystery  
**Type:** Alternative Universe, endless?  
**Warnings:** possible OoC on Ryoma's part, bad description?, fanfiction form dialogues  
**Pairings:** I've finally decided to just hint at them. So basically, they're all implied in a way.  
**Rated:** PG13 -- R, **PG13** for now  
**Additional notes: **I've a feeling this story's going to be continuous... if not, it will end... some day. Hints of shounen ai.  
**Disclaimer:** I'm neither the man nor the mangaka who has come up with this series.  
  
**2.  
**  
_Cling! Cling! Clang!  
_  
Majestic-looking, black coats billowed charmingly behind the wielders of the sparring swords. The heaviness of the cape never crossed either sparring partners' minds as they attacked each other 'amiably'.  
  
_Cling! Clang! Clang!  
_  
Faint sounds of harsh breathing and rhythmic clanging of the freshly-sharpen swords surrounded them like echoes in a secluded room.  
  
"Hmmm. You're getting better" the taller one of the two, commented while flashing a strange almost-perverted smile to his opponent. He countered him.  
  
The shorter guy's feet barely had to skid backwards, when his opponent deflected his counter.  
  
_Cling! Clang!  
_  
"Sssshhhh" His sword struck down again only to be pushed aside by his taller partner's sword. His taller partner instantly knocked the sword out of grasp and immediately held the hilt of the sword near his throat.  
  
"...I win" the taller guy smiled, his pair of glasses glinting.  
  
"Sssshhhh" the defeated one accepted reluctantly and closed his eyes in shame. He'd worked so hard on getting his first win out of this one. "Sssshhhh... I apologize for my incompetence, Inui-sempai"  
  
The glasses perched on Inui's nose, glinted mysteriously. "... I can set up a training schedule if you want to be stronger"  
  
"...Sssshhh..."  
  
**XXX Operation Unsolved part 2 XXX  
**  
Fuji Syusuke smiled -a hint of mischief in his now opened blue eyes- as he folded his hands together on the table.  
  
"We should do this more often, Yuuta. Your Aniki's happy that you've considered going on a date. Wouldn't you say so too?"  
  
"Shut up, Aniki! Just eat your stuff and get it over with! How could you be so careless! Not eating, after having done whatever job you did yesterday. You could've starved to death!" Yuuta burst out, not realizing he was obviously showing his concern through his angered words.  
  
As soon as those words registered in his mind, Yuuta glanced embarrassedly at the street, nearby to which their table was placed.  
His brother hadn't come back quickly like he and 'nee-san had expected the previous night. Aniki hadn't even come back when supper's served, so he and 'nee-san had stayed up, awaiting Aniki's return.  
Whatever his brother had been doing for the _-other-_ job, it seemed to be exhausting him physically.  
  
Yuuta remembered his brother stumbling into his bedroom without giving either of them he and 'nee-san acknowledgement last night. It's unusual to see his laid-back Aniki like that... so _tired_. Fortunately, they hadn't gone on a date last night though.  
But since he'd suspected his Aniki of not having eaten, he took it upon himself to feed him the first thing in the morning.  
  
"You're so sweet" his brother cooed and looked down at the plate of wasabi sushi in front of him.  
  
Seeing his Aniki busy himself with the chopsticks and paper towels, Yuuta took the opportunity to slouch in his seat and send his brother a pleading look. "What kind of work was it yesterday, Aniki?"  
  
His brother stopped re-shuffling the paper towels and placed his chopsticks back on the table.  
  
"You know I must not talk about my other work with you, Yuuta"  
  
"Yes, but-"  
  
"So don't worry about your Aniki. Everything's going to be fine" his brother had sound so serious.  
  
But why? Yuuta didn't understand his brother anymore -he dreaded having to admit it- his Aniki is sure an enigma. His Aniki probably noticed his panic for he sent him another careless smile.  
  
"Now open wide, Yuuta. Say aah..."  
  
Just when he thought his Aniki was continuing the serious subject, Aniki had to pick out one of his wasabi sushi and let it hover in front of Yuuta's mouth. The younger Fuji gritted his teeth in annoyance.  
  
"Come on, Yuuta. I like to share this delicious feast with you"

* * *

Kikumaru peered curiously over his partner's shoulder.  
  
"What are you doing, nya?"  
  
He'd found his partner engrossed in several piles of paper work, when he'd arrived at the Seishun Police Station where he'd been stationed.  
  
At first he thought Tezuka was updating the latest reports of petty crimes like robberies, stolen items, traffic violations and such. Kikumaru felt guilty that Tezuka's doing all the work, but not guilty enough to even take over the other half of his partner's work. Besides it's very unusual to see Kikumaru with so many papers on his desk even if he's generally not really a lazy person.  
  
But in the end Kikumaru knew better if Tezuka's working on the reports, he would have punished Kikumaru with letting him do two-third of the work. Tezuka had yet to say anything to him when he sat down behind his desk, next to Tezuka's desk.  
  
"Hn" was all he'd gotten from his partner.  
  
"Herr Schwarzgerald case" Kikumaru read the headline. He frowned lightly.  
  
"Herr Schwarzgerald case, nya? Hoi! Hoi! What's all this paper work for, nya? Weren't the investigators supposed to do this work, Tezuka?" He straddled his swivel chair, comfortably and leaned on the backrest, looking over Tezuka's desk.  
  
_Where did all the piles of paperwork come from?  
_  
"Superintendent Oishi has appointed me to arrange the necessary -data- noted by someone of another station" Tezuka stopped writing, he dropped his pen on the desk and flexed his writing hand several times.  
  
Taking note of this action, Kikumaru was certain his partner must have been writing non-stop.  
  
"Hoi! But how come there's so much paper on the Herr Schwarzgerald case, nya? It's just opened two days ago" he wondered thoughtfully as Tezuka picked up his pen to resume his writing.  
  
"Chief had wanted a detailed report on yesterday's events from the very beginning till the end..."  
  
"Unya! That's too much for you!" Kikumaru commented sympathetically.  
  
"Then get to work!" Before Kikumaru could blink twice, Tezuka had pushed the biggest pile of paper work in his face.  
  
"Nyah? How mean!!" Realizing he'd just been caught by his partner, Kikumaru decided to help out, reluctantly while mumbling not-so-nice comments about Tezuka under his breath.

* * *

Inui's face was impassive as he picked the green bandana out of the dirty red water with a pin.  
"Now I'm 100 percent sure this belongs to him" he muttered and looked over his notes.  
  
"So it really belongs to you" A hint of melodrama hung in his words as Inui put the bandana aside.  
  
"Do you think it's really him?" The communicator in his ear sizzled softly.  
  
"Hmm" Inui settled with humming, neither an affirmative nor negative answer.  
  
"Saa... I'll look into this further on. Keep an eye on him" The person on the other side of the line paused. "Would helping -them- be a good option?"  
  
"Probably not, though it might be. If so, we can keep them -at bay- for awhile without them interrupting our posts" Inui pulled out a small satchel and concealed it immediately under the layer of expensive black tunic he's wearing. Inui put on his black police-style hat and slipped on his favorable pair of black gloves.  
  
He just hoped he'd gotten the wrong guy. With this last inkling thought, he walked out of the room and set off to find _-him-_.

* * *

Kikumaru took out a notebook and a pen as he looked for a certain officer... officer Kisarazu Atsushi and not the brother.  
The chief wanted a detailed report, right? Officer Kikumaru Eiji would give him one if he didn't have to walk around in search for Kisarazu.  
  
_He should be back now.  
_  
Kikumaru bristled past a mildly-smiling guy, accidentally.  
"Sorry!"  
He hurried down the stairs without looking over at his shoulder at the stranger.  
  
Kisarazu Atsushi had just arrived at the station, after having done his night shift of the night before.  
  
"Hoi, Atsushi, nya!"  
  
Kisarazu Atsushi looked up as he stepped out of the police car.  
"Kikumaru-san" he greeted, politely nodding once and closing the door.  
Kikumaru came down running towards the other officer, hands flailing around with his notebook in one hand and a pen in the other.  
  
"Can I speak to you for a moment, nya? It's important!"  
  
Kisarazu looked taken aback as he blinked. "Uhm..."  
  
"Hoi, where's your partner? He's not hurt, is he?" Kikumaru resisted the urge to hug the other agent impulsively and looked around, curiously.  
  
"I drove Yanagisawa back home. He barely made it into his apartment much less come back to the station"  
  
"Nn. I see. Anyways, I need your help, Atsushi!"  
  
"Well, I-" Kisarazu frowned, feeling at a loss-  
  
"Good! Nya, let's go!" -only to get dragged by his enthusiastic colleague towards the stairs.  
  
"W-where's Tezuka-san?" Kisarazu attempted to slow down Kikumaru's pace as he deliberately stood his ground stubbornly before he could land face first on the ground. He's after all, not used to be jumped by an excited colleague.  
  
"He's doing something secretive, nya. Don't worry"  
  
Secretive indeed. Tezuka hadn't answered him helpfully, when he'd asked him where to start with his paper work on the case of the day before. Yesterday's case, Kikumaru remembered vaguely, had something to do with smuggling... human smuggling... or was it more like human internal organs smuggling?  
_Never mind.  
_Kisarazu would surely tell him something interesting...

* * *

**13:05 PM  
**  
Tezuka looked suspiciously at the manila folder on his partner's desk from the corner of his eye. There is something strange about having someone give his partner the responsibility of watching over this folder instead of him. So before you know it, his partner had probably thrown it away among his other papers within a day. Obviously, the sender didn't know much of Kikumaru's tendency to avoid responsibilities; he's just not so serious about his work.  
  
Tezuka looked back down on his work - a half-written page about Herr Schwarzgerald's routines; so far, only part of the German Minister's routine on his last day had been covered. Herr Schwarzgerald's secretary, Herr Schneiders, was present, and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, also.  
  
_Argh! Why didn't Chief want the reports printed out from the computer? There's so many stuff about the German minister to write about.  
_Hm.  
  
He looked back at the manila folder on his partner's desk, thoughtfully. Kikumaru's not really someone who hides his stuff. -I have nothing valuable to hide from you-, Kikumaru had pointed out once.  
At last he reached out and took the folder.  
  
"Na Tezuka, isn't that the folder?"  
  
Tezuka looked up automatically. If he were surprised by the superintendent's presence, his face didn't show it.  
"Oishi"  
  
The superintendent smiled sheepishly; he'd not greeted Tezuka properly. "I'm sorry. Hello again"  
  
"Oishi, what are you doing he-" Tezuka stopped abruptly as he looked around. The floor, which he shared with his division, was suddenly filled with curious officers. It must probably because of Oishi's presence; he's the superintendent after all.  
  
"Ah! I'm sorry for intruding your division. I just came here to pick up something" Oishi explained to the other officers with one of his usual, polite smiles.  
  
"Maybe we should go somewhere private..." Oishi suggested, turning to look at Tezuka.  
Tezuka pushed his swivel chair back and stood up, holding the manila folder in one hand.  
  
"Aa"  
  
**X  
**  
_There's a shot of a broken mirror with trails of blood in the splinters.  
_  
"Did they check on the blood there?"  
  
"They're still working on it"  
  
"Aa"  
  
"Who took these again?"  
  
"Someone by the name of Fuji"  
  
"I see" Oishi looked at the photo from different angles, turning it to one angle and then to another.  
  
_The next few photos were shots of splattered blood on carpeted floor.  
_  
"Why did he take several shots of these?" Oishi frowned, tilting his head slightly as he tried to make out what's the difference between the photos.  
  
"Herr Schwarzgerald probably was killed by a weapon. The splattered blood can tell us with which weapon and force the Minister had been killed" Tezuka informed, he gathered the photos of splattered blood and spread them out on the table.  
  
"Herr Schwarzgerald had not been killed with the help of a gun. No shot wound marred his skin" Oishi concluded. He marveled slowly on Tezuka's line of thoughts, slightly wondering why that part of no shot wound was found disturbed his logical mind. Any killer uses a gun to finish off his victims, right?  
  
A dagger didn't fit in Herr Schwarzgerald's case either.  
  
Tezuka nodded.  
  
_The next photo was a shot of an unraveled dark spot -on the carpeted floor- where the corps had been found. A small object -a pen- laid lonely nearby.  
_  
Oishi looked up at Tezuka for any comments.  
However, there's none.  
  
_A shot of a broken vase with scattered flowers.  
_  
"A sign of struggle perhaps?" Oishi's voice cut through the silent room.  
  
"Perhaps" Tezuka commented.  
  
_A blank writing sheet on the small table in the middle of the living room.  
_  
Tezuka eyed it suspiciously. There had to be a reason why the photographer had taken this picture.  
  
"What has a blank sheet of paper got to do with Herr Schwarzgerald's case?" Oishi wondered, while looking closely at the photo. He couldn't grasp the meaning of something tugging at the back of his mind. Surely, the sheet should be an important object here.  
The sheet. The pen. Means... something, he concluded.  
  
"A suicide note?" Oishi suggested.  
  
"Not likely"  
  
_A shot of something filthy on the carpeted floor near the balcony. The spot was a bit blurry, almost half-hidden in the furry coat of the carpet.  
_  
"Foot prints" Oishi frowned lightly. "I don't recall having that reported. Maybe they'd missed this one. I'm glad Fuji's attentive"  
  
Tezuka didn't comment.  
  
_The last photo was a shot of a blood-drenched, green bandana...  
_  
Oishi hadn't seen any bandanas in the apartment.  
"Where did he get this one?" Oishi said thoughtfully.  
  
That's what Tezuka liked to know. Fuji was added to his list of suspects; most likely the first suspect followed by Herr Schneiders, Herr Schwarzgerald's secretary, and the Minister of Foreigner Affairs.  
  
**X  
**  
Right outside the secluded room, which Oishi and Tezuka were occupying, Fuji was chuckling to himself. After hearing those comments he felt rather pleased with the photos he'd taken. It's amusing to hear the police assume things and work out theories through lifeless and yet lively photos.  
  
"Saa..."  
  
He held his camera lovingly close and walked away. He hoped Inui wouldn't take this case too badly...  
the owner of the green bandana had been Inui's apprentice.  
  
"Are you going to be all right?" he asked emptily to no one in particular and descended the stairs without being noticed.

* * *

"SSSHHHHH. I've done nothing of that sort" He glared up at the taller Inui, feeling slightly horrified of having been accused by his older companion.  
  
Kaido had just returned from his daily training, when Inui-sempai had come out of nowhere, wearing -the- uniform, and pointed out that his bandana had been found near someone's body which implied that he had killed someone. It had been puzzling at first, but later on... everything just fit. Like where one of his bandanas had been, why Inui-sempai was in front of him and why he was wearing -the- uniform. It's all because Kaido was suspected to be the murderer of Herr Schwarzgerald.  
  
Inui-sempai was standing motionlessly before him, staring through a pair of glasses which always creped Kaido out, thoughtfully. He felt as if Inui-sempai's eyes were boring into his, trying to find any deceit. So what was he supposed to do?  
  
...  
  
"I trust you" Inui spoke up at last; the sides of his lips quirking up in a faint smile.  
  
Kaido's head shot up in, surprised that Inui-sempai had let that issue pass without some more reasoning like his sempai usually would do.  
  
Why?, he wondered.  
  
As if having heard the unspoken question, Inui patted Kaido on his shoulder, lightly.  
  
"I believe you" was all what he'd said. So what was he supposed to do?  
  
He did one thing understandably. He stared. Kaido stared at him, unsure if he should be relieved or afraid, after hearing Inui-sempai's words. He didn't know.  
Kaido settled for the former and slowly found himself relaxing.  
  
"Thanks" he mumbled softly, averted his eyes and self-consciously stepped back.  
  
Taking note of that action as a retreat, Inui quickly announced: "Tonight we should assemble! After the meeting we'll start with our special training"  
  
Kaido nodded obediently. Without any protest. And he didn't know whether he should ignore Inui-sempai's grin or not.

* * *

At a local Junk Food Restaurant, Echizen Ryoma's having a staring contest with the guy sitting across his table. The guy, Momoshiro Takeshi, grinned good-naturedly, when the hypnotizing effect of looking into people's eyes took place, his mind whirled in alarm.  
  
"You're suspect no.2, Momo-senpai" Echizen stated.  
  
"You must be kidding me"  
  
Echizen leaned back in his uncomfortable chair and crossed his arms.  
"The bandana Fuji-sempai had found that night, indeed belonged to Kaido-sempai. Inui-sempai had run some tests on it and confirmed it. I believe Inui-sempai had confronted Kaido-sempai about this... coincidence; his bandana was dyed in blood near that German guy's body. Kaido-sempai is innocent. The possible person who would frame Kaido-sempai like that would definitely be you"  
  
Echizen hid a smirk behind his stern face as he watched Momoshiro looking flabbergasted, disgusted and confused at the idea of being the murderer.  
  
"What? That can't be right! Why should I play such a dirty trick on that Mamushi?!" Momoshiro burst out indignantly, his eyes narrowing angrily. He slammed his hand, palm first, on their table.  
The people sitting nearby turned to look at them, curiously.  
  
A cocky grin appeared on Echizen's face, he's amused.  
  
"So why did you do it?"  
  
"I'm innocent! I didn't do it, Echizen!"  
  
"You've once mentioned you stole Kaido-sempai's bandanas now and then just to rile him up. So what makes this case any different?"  
  
"A huge difference. That day, I haven't been anywhere near that Mamushi to steal his stuff!"  
  
Echizen raised an eyebrow lightly. "What have you been doing then?"  
  
Momoshiro's face reddened, either of embarrassment or anger. Ryoma couldn't tell.  
  
"I had a verbal fight with that Speed Demon from the -other- group just because he saw An-chan coincidently talking to me!"  
  
Echizen could see the anger flaring in Momo-sempai's eyes.  
  
"So you mean to say you and that guy with the red hair had worked together on this?"  
  
"Y- _NO!_ Didn't you hear what I just said?"  
  
"Yes. You mentioned you were double-crossing _-us- _with that guy and condemned the German guy to your mercy" Echizen answered half-heartedly. Momo-sempai is being an idiot.  
  
"What the hell? Echizen, what have you been smoking? I've said no such thing!"  
  
"So you're guilty now?  
  
"NO! ARGH! You little-!"  
  
Echizen sent him a glare. "Watch it, Momo-sempai. This case had just been opened and since you're being so unreasonable about my comments, I suppose I'm glad I got a lead here already"  
  
Momoshiro blinked twice. "Huh?"  
  
"This is how you should work when interrogating someone bigger than you, Momo-sempai"  
  
"ECHIZEN!" Momo-sempai roared.  
Momo-sempai had been innocent all this time.  
  
"If you weren't this cute, Echizen, I would've pounded you into pieces!"  
  
_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!  
_  
Echizen switched off his beeper and stood up, startling Momo-sempai.  
"Excuse me. I've to go back to work"  
  
Momoshiro nodded. "Understood"

* * *

"The blood test is completed, sir"  
  
"What are the results?"  
  
**- - - - - - End Operation Unsolved 2 - - - - - -  
**  
**TheNekoTalks:  
**  
**1.** The Echizen and Momo scene is actually more of an experiment. Echizen is trying, interrogating those who are more likely to be a suspect than just the actual murderer they're after.  
**2.** I'm sorry for the late update. The pages for this chapter had been covered with lots of scratches and references here and there, that it's hard to see where some parts go by.  
**3.** A bit boring here, but I believe the whole thing will be explained in the next chapter in an odd sort of way.  
**4.** This story is far from the ending :) so it'll be a lot of hustling here and there while I introduce the actual story.  
**5.** And the logic must be kicking in already, ne? I deliberately didn't go into the stuff about the secret organization, the other organizations, the uniform and some more stuff. It's for the later story.  
  
I like to thank those who had reviewed: **Ichi**, **Julie7** and **yoshikochan** :). I'm glad it's an interesting piece of work so far :loves Mysteries to pieces:.  
  
**:Smiley face: cin **  
  
**Edit:** Had replaced some typos and little errors. I apologize for the inconvenience. 


	3. Case 1: Operation Unsolved 3

**Operation Unsolved   
Author:** Nekocin   
**Genres:** Action, Mystery   
**Type:** Alternative Universe, Continuation?   
**Warnings:** possible OoC on everyone's part, OC, frozen writing style, too much dialogues.   
**Pairings:** Implied Oshitari**_ -liking- _**Kikumaru, Saeki**_ -possibly liking- _**Fuji   
**Rated:** PG13 --> R, **PG13** for now   
**Additional notes:** strange twist?, implied "**pairings**"   
**Disclaimer:** same as in the previous chapters.**   
**   
**3.   
**   
Both Tezuka and Kikumaru were on a short break on their night shift.   
Kikumaru had persuaded his partner to eat at the local traditional restaurant by the name "**Kawamura's corner**", saying that as police officers they needed to eat healthy stuff in order to work efficient enough while on duty.

As soon as they had entered the restaurant Kikumaru had enthusiastically tied the restaurant owner in an almost endless, friendly talk while Tezuka scanned the new environment.

Like any traditional restaurant, "Kawamura's corner" had low tables on carefully-cleaned platform with scattered cushions round the tables on the left and a long counter on the right. The walls were plainly decorated with scrolls of zen proverbs... that's when Tezuka noticed a familiar person approaching them.

"What a coincidence!"

Kikumaru tensed up, recognizing the voice and looked wide-eyed at the smiling inspector.

"... ah... u... ho... e..." Kikumaru sputtered, uncomfortably shifting his weight to one foot then to the other. He gave up and sighed.

"Good evening, inspector"

The inspector smiled at Kikumaru and then at Tezuka. "Good evening. Come sit with us, darling"

"Us, nya?" Kikumaru wondered nervously, his eyes darting around for an escape if there were any.

"Yes, superintendent Oishi and Echizen Ryoma" Oshitari explained and ushered Kikumaru towards the table at the corner. He looked over his shoulder to find Tezuka still hovering near the counter.

"Are you coming, Tezuka?" He sent Tezuka a dazzling smile, but received no intended reaction from the other. The officer just followed them without much twitching at the inspector playful attitude towards him.

Upon meeting up with the inspector's companions, Oishi was surprised to see Tezuka while Echizen's bored expression betrayed his uninterested attitude towards the two officers.

Right on cue, the inspector started to tease Kikumaru mercilessly with his... not-so-subtle flirting. The teasing had gone so out of hand that Kikumaru removed himself from standing nearby the perverted inspector and attached himself on to Echizen out of sheer curiosity _Really! He was curious about Ryoma!_.

**XXX Operation Unsolved part 3 XXX   
**   
"Now I see what's wrong" Inui mumbled to himself and pushed his glasses back into place. He closed his notebook and smirked at no one in particular. He'd finally found the hole!

"Kaido, it's time we pay a visit to our presumably, possible killer"

Kaido, his apprentice, looked up from his writing work, questioningly, but nodded obediently instead. How could his teacher know who might be the killer? The killer who had tried to frame him no less! His teacher was really one eccentric man who knew how to gain all sorts of information he wanted just by merely observing and doing eerily freaky stuff with his grin, or eyebrows, or glasses...

Kaido shivered lightly, despite the fact that he was actually sweating from the sheer closeness of the fire, which was currently heating up some _-new liquid invention-_.

"SHHHHH... Do I have to contact Fuji-sempai?" he responded.

"Hm. He probably has an idea of who it might be. But call him anyway"

Kaido hissed obediently and left the laboratory.

Inui checked on the notes he'd just written in his notebook and compared them with the notes his apprentice had just taken. "... I might be wrong, if not correct, that this is really a complex formula..."

* * *

"It seems like they're having fun, ne Taka-san" Fuji smiled at the owner of the restaurant. He looked subtly over his shoulder to the table in the corner where one excited officer was enthusiastically trying to get the younger member, Echizen, to respond to his loud chatter. 

"Mhm. Here, Fujiko-chan" the owner had just served Fuji's favorite dish, wasabi sushi.

"Thank you" Fuji picked up the pair of chopsticks between his fingers, ready to dig in.

"Echizen doesn't look like he's enjoying being there" Kawamura Takashi picked up a cloth and started scrubbing the counter slowly, all the while keeping a subtle eye on Echizen's table.

"Aa. At least he got resources for whatever he wanted to gain" A wasabi sushi disappeared into his mouth.

"Momoshiro had mentioned that Echizen's found a lead" Kawamura's voice betrayed his amazement to what he'd just stated.

"I see-" Fuji paused as he carefully choose his words. "Echizen is a very inter-"

_Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!   
_   
Fuji immediately reached for his pager, which was attached against the back of his belt, he read the message and let out a sigh afterwards.

"I don't like it when someone interrupts my lunch break. Ne, Taka-san, could you put these in a bento for me? I'll come back after this" He placed the chopsticks on the counter, grabbed a sheet of paper towel and wiped his mouth automatically.

"Sure. Just don't get into trouble" Kawamura sent the other a worried look as he picked up Fuji's plate of wasabi sushi.

Fuji smiled mildly, turned in his seat and stepped down from it. He headed to the exit.   
"I'll see you" he had whispered lightly and waved once, before closing the screen door.

Kawamura shook his head lightly as he gathered Fuji's lunch in a lunchbox. He caught two people staring at his direction which was pretty unnerving. Echizen Ryoma and Oshitari Yuushi. Neither one of the two flinched nor looked nervous when Kawamura confronted them with a _-look-_ of his own, clearly saying that he knew they were watching his exchange with Fuji.

Not knowing what to do about the awkward situation he'd gotten himself into, Kawamura sent them a small, timid smile and placed the lid on top of the lunchbox, closing it. He resumed his daily business as the friendly restaurant owner of Kawamura's corner.

* * *

Fuji watched someone exiting a hotel building and waving for passing taxis. He acted immediately -ready to pounce his prey, in a sense. It was his cue. 

The anonymous man had hauled a cab successfully and stepped into the car.

"Take me to Narita airport" The man ordered the driver and slid on the seatbelt.

_With pleasure...   
_   
Fuji smirked lightly, pulled his black driver's cap down and let the shadows cover his eyes. He switched gears and drove up the main street. Paying the actual cab owner a certain amount of money, was really worth it. If not, there were a lot of possibilities to get his money back...

His azure eyes glinted as he looked at the mirror hanging strategically above his head. His prey would never knew what hit him.

**XX**

"What did you do to him, Fuji?"

"He's indisposed... for a while"

"SHHHHH... you didn't kill him, right Fuji-sempai?"

"Saa... let's find out... after tomorrow"

"It seems like the concoction is working quite well"

"Heh you must be talking about the first stage"

"SHHHHH"

"Ii data. We'll see what will happen to him tomorrow"

* * *

**Saturday, 9:05 AM   
**   
Oshitari had deliberately asked for this case when he'd met up with Oishi. Not only did he want to tease the officers, but he wanted to be the one to solve this case as well. 

There's a big chance that Echizen's son might know more about this murder than he lets on. He could tell from Echizen's thoughtful expression, last night when they had lunched together with Oishi.

He would have to dig deeper besides fitting puzzles with a bunch of photos. It explained why he was entering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, and requested for a small meeting with the Minister. His request was granted instantly.

"I apologize for interrupting your day, sir" Inspector Oshitari put up a mild apologetic look on his face as he bowed lightly in greeting and apology.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs waved off the apology, lightly, and looked up expectantly at Oshitari, from his seat behind the desk. Oshitari observed the Minister.

The face looked familiar: _oval chin, slightly rounded cheeks, primed dark-red hair, deep indigo eyes_... but Oshitari couldn't place a name to familiarity, which was an understatement.

"I already know from the start that you'll come to me sooner or later..." Even the voice sounded familiar.

Oshitari raised an interested eyebrow. "Oh? Are you uncomfortable in my presence, sir?"

"Not at all. So, what can I do for you?" There's a fleeting look of hurt on the minister's face, but it quickly disappeared before Oshitari could blink twice; perhaps his eyes were playing tricks with him.

"I like to ask you a few questions-"

"Regarding?" the minister cut in.

"Regarding the late Herr Schwarzgerald"

"I can tell that much," The minister nodded absently. "So what do you want to know, inspector?" He raised his eyes to meet the inspector's, expectantly yet again.

Oishi smiled. "What's your relationship with Herr Schwarzgerald?"

"Just business" the answer came out immediate. Oshitari would like to bet the answer came out without thought, because their relationship probably was '_just business_'.

"Would that be good or bad?" Oshitari continued.

"I suppose, it's good, since we had a certain mutual agreement" _Mutual agreement?_

"And what kind of mutual agreement would that be?"

The minister smiled, a small smile playing on his lips. "He's good in his field as in mine."

"That doesn't make sense. What kind of field?" Oshitari commented.

The small smile on the Minister's face widened.

"Sport" And the smile vanished.

Oshitari stared at the Minister's sudden neutral face. "... sport, you say?"

"Yes"

"What kind of sport?"

"Track racing and acrobatics"

"... I see" Oshitari couldn't see the link between the mutual agreement with the sport comment. He frowned lightly.

"When is the last time you saw Herr Schwarzgerald?"

"On Tuesday, this week. We had a lunch meeting"

"Where?"

"That fancy restaurant, some foreign name I couldn't read" The minister's eyebrows were knit together in a light frown as if trying to remember the name. It didn't seem like he could remember it any time soon.

"How long did this lunch meeting take?"

The minister paused again. "I'm not exactly sure. But I suppose it had taken roughly 3 hours"

"Was there a third party present?"

"...yes. Herr Schwarzgerald had brought his secretary along, claiming that he's too lazy to write down the important points"

"What about you? Did you bring your secretary along, too?"

The minister hesitated. "No. But I did bring two acquaintances along"

"And who would they be?" _Intriguing_.

"Ohtori Choutarou and Kaido Kaoru"

Oshitari nodded, looking interested at the minister. "Tell me something about them"

"Very well. Ohtori is currently aiming for the superintendent spot. I met him at the University during my college years. He had been my study partner in Music and Art"

"Music and Art?" Oshitari prodded politely, with raised eyebrows.

"He's an aptitude for creative fields"

"I see. Please continue"

"I met Kaido-san on the streets. Actually, I accidentally kicked him over while he was doing his routines" A slight blush of embarrassment appeared on the minister's face. _How unusual_. "I believe he works as an apprentice for some scientist; I've noticed he's very handy with handling self-brewed liquids"

"What kind of routines?"

"He loves to jog through town in the afternoons"

"Why's that?"

"He never told me the reason why. But I think it has something to do with the fact that being an apprentice, other parts of his body won't be so active as his brains, his eyes or his hands. After all, all he has to do is stand nearby, analyze stuff and mix the liquids."

"Aha. Did Herr Schwarzgerald know your companions beforehand?"

"Not that I know of. No. I don't think so... my companions didn't look really that impressed when Herr Schwarzgerald made his entrance"

"Aa. Did Herr Schwarzgerald leave something for you? A letter? A blank paper? A package? Or anything of that sort?"

The Minister frowned lightly. "... Hmmm... no, I don't think so"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm very sure"

Oshitari paused and looked over at the Minister. He sent the other a calculated look, nodded absently and straightened his shoulders.

"Do you know where your two companions live?"

"Is it necessary to bring them into this case too, inspector?"

"Of course" Oshitari smiled politely.   
He watched the Minister rip out a piece of paper from a notebook and scribble something on it.

The inspector couldn't help but admire those hands... they're calloused... like his. The minister wordlessly gave him the piece of paper.

"Well, that's it for now. Have a nice day..." His eyes trailed towards the golden nameplate on the minister's desk. "... Gakuto-san..."

* * *

"Why were the results delayed?" Oishi wondered disapprovingly as he fixed a stern look on the messenger boy.   
It's been 3 days since the blood test was taken and for some suspicious reason the results hadn't been immediately submitted to the superintendent until just recently. Usually, blood tests take up one day to only identify what had caused the Minister's death. 

"I don't know. I'm just passing by when some guy gave me this folder" the messenger boy shrugged. He smiled for a moment and saluted with two fingers tapping his blue cap.

"At least you got the results, sir. Now, I'll be on my way. Good day"

The superintendent waved him off.

Looking down at the folder in his hands, Oishi silently wondered if someone else was meddling with his business. He shrugged absently and looked over the test results. The content made him raise his eyebrows up in confusion.

The researchers had discovered 3 blood types in the samples the investigators had gathered: A, B and O. Herr Schwarzgerald's blood was mixed up with 2 unidentified possible eyewitnesses their blood. Whether the two were the actual murderers... or not, was a bit of a possibility.

How did his blood mix with others? Was it because of the three different blood types together, Herr Schwarzgerald's dead? _Argh! _Where were the test results on the body? He should have been informed of the cause of the Minister's death.

**XX**

Not far from the frustrated superintendent, the messenger boy greeted Fuji with a mocking salute and a grin. The gesture wasn't taken as an insult when Fuji answered the other with a smile, however, more amused than mocking.

"You're playing a very dangerous game, Syusuke"

"Aa, what can I say? It makes life pretty interesting for a double player like me, won't you say so yourself, Kojirou?" Fuji responded, clearly looking interested at the taller messenger boy, Saeki Kojirou.

Saeki saw a flash of azure eyes before it disappeared. He grinned in response, pulled off his cap and brushed his hair lightly aside. He fixed Fuji a searching look with a pair of sharp blue-violet eyes, and leaned closer to the photographer's face.

He laid his hand against the Fuji's forehead and brushed the light brown bangs aside. "Why don't you worry about yourself? Your models must be waiting for you"

Fuji didn't seem to mind their proximity or the too-intimate brush of warm skin for he leaned into the friendly touch, willingly. Anyone passing by would have thought they were into some kind of relationship, which probably was, until a visible playful smirk appeared on Fuji's face.

"You keep on reminding me about my schedule and brushing my hair aside at the same time -not that I'm a forgetful person. If I hadn't known any better, I would say you are harboring secret feelings for me, Kojirou"

Saeki responded with a spontaneous smirk of his own, clearly not surprised or disgusted at the idea.

"So what if I am? What if I have hidden feelings for you all this time?" He made it more challengingly by leaning closer. "What would you do then?"

"I'd say, I would leave you hanging till you are ready enough to throw yourself at me" Fuji countered.

"What if I lose interest in you before I'm ready for it?" Saeki pressed on.

"Then I'll stalk you myself" The words came out blunt with a hint of earnest; Fuji probably would do that.   
Saeki couldn't help but grin at the response. _So spontaneous_.

"Then I hope I get the privilege to witness you stalking me. It would be interesting"

Fuji let out an amused chuckle and distanced himself from Saeki, who didn't seem to mind the abrupt cease of playful bantering.

"Well, go on. Back to work, you!" Saeki shooed.

Grabbing hold of the camera tightly, Fuji nodded curtly to his companion and walked to the general direction to his photo-shooting agency, leaving Saeki behind.

Saeki watched Fuji's retreating back until the owner was round the corner. He chuckled to himself.

"I hope I'm lucky enough to witness that some day. Indeed" he commented into thin air and casually ran his fingers through his white hair.   
Shaking his head ruefully, he put his cap back on and continued his way as an innocent commoner, a messenger, who had just found out how wonderful that day was.

_Yes. It was a wonderful day. _

* * *

**Ohtori Choutarou   
**   
Oshitari read the in-gold graved placate on the sweet-smelling, red-brown cherry-wooden door. There was no title in front, but the reception officer insisted that '_Ohtori-san_' was really an inspector -an inspector with such devotion for his work and a 'fine' heart for his subordinates Oshitari had smirked, looking amused. 

It would be very interesting to see who exactly is this inspector who had somehow attracted everyone of this division... _truly intriguing_.

He raised his fisted hand and knocked.

Maybe he'd found another prey to prey on. His glasses glinted...

**End Operation Unsolved 3   
**   
**- bento -- wooden lunchbox   
**   
**TheNekoTalks: **

1) There's not much of Echizen, Tezuka or Kikumaru here, because I'm actually trying to make place for all characters in this story. **   
2) **I'm just playing around with Oshitari's character, so I guess he's so Out Of Character even if he got a lot of parts.**   
3) **Taka-san came out all right. I'm very glad he did** :hugs character:   
4) **As for Saeki...** :frowns: **I can't say if I butchered his character or not, but I think he did come out all right. And by the way, I think he's very cute! **   
5) **I'm sorry about using Outside Characters. More of them will come as this story progresses. **   
**   
I like to thank those who'd reviewed the previous chapter: **yoshikochan**, **Ying Fa19 **and** Yarrie**.**   
**   
Look at the new thing! **:grins:** I've been nosing around in old Detective books if you must know. Of course I've already planned out the first case, but after reading several good Mystery books I thought about making the whole case flip on its sides that it's just ironic in a way **:smiles: **

But sadly, I'm very bad at trying to pinpoint all my description or the lack there of which might result to the fact that the whole mysterious atmosphere must have vanished! And _oh my gawd_ the major age difference!   
And the chapter is too _short_. I'll lengthen the next chapter, though.

**:Smiley face: cin**


	4. Case 1: Operation Unsolved 4

**Operation Unsolved  
Author:** Nekocin  
**Genres:** Action, Mystery  
**Warnings:** possible OoC on everyone's part, OC, frozen writing style  
**Rated:** PG13 -- R  
**Additional notes:** strange twist?, implied "pairings"  
**Disclaimer:** I wrote a wish list to Santa about wanting a set of all the Prince of Tennis characters for Christmas. He wrote back, sending me a 300-page 'booklet' on copyright laws and infringement suits, said there was nothing he could do about it and asked if I would want a plastic kitty instead. I'm currently thinking it over... **:burst into tears: P**

**4.  
**  
It's been a long day.

There's rarely a day when he could rest his tired limbs, save for his days off. Costumers kept coming and coming. This job was pretty easy. All one had to do, was taking orders, clearing the tables, sweeping the tiled floor and washing the cups, glasses and the plates. And every day was the same.

However, not on this day, not on Sunday.

Shishido Ryou didn't like _-this-_ situation one but. Most of the costumers looked suspicious; they kept looking around wildly as if they were going to be attacked any minute _-they even wore almost identical black suits-_ He wouldn't be surprised if the suits were of the same trade-mark.

Was this day some sort of _-showing respect to the death-_ day?

He grumbled something under his breath and kicked one of his fellow-workers, Akutagawa Jirou, awake.

"Get up! There's lots of stuff to do, Jirou!"

Jirou rubbed his eyes slowly, yawning a few times and stared with glazed eyes at Shishido.

"Mhm... Oh, Shishido... work? Ah, I should go back to work... don't worry... Can I take your ord-...zzzzz" And he fell back to sleep.

Shishido's eyes twitched. He felt irritated and stomped away from his sleeping friend. It's no use trying to get Jirou to help him, the guy's too sleepy at the moment.

Shishido took his place behind the cash register, sighed out to keep his temper in check and looked at the costumer coming straight his way. "Can I take your order, sir?"

"I like to have 3 cups of coffee with milk, 2 with cream, 1 glass of iced-tea lemon-"

_"KYAAAAA!"_

The costumer's order was cut off, when a high-pitched scream startled everyone in the cafe shop.

Shishido looked over his shoulder, indifferently and looked back at his client. It's probably just the new waitress _-what's her name?-_, so easily freaked out at the sight of mice scurrying in the garbage can. Several of his fellow-workers went to the back of the kitchen to find out what's wrong. Perhaps it's okay to be certain about what exactly made said waitress scream so high-pitched _-the pitch was so different-_.

"Anything else, sir?"

His startled client blinked in bewilderment as if having forgotten his order.

"What was that?"

"What's going on?

"Is someone kidnapped?"

"We should call the police"

Several 'normal-looking' clients stood up from their seats and were curiously looking for a glimpse of anything unusual behind Shishido. The murmuring of curious costumer got out of hand that Shishido couldn't understand what the costumer in front of him was saying. He felt his eyes twitch again.

"Everyone, please go back to your seats!" The manager of the cafe shop was luckily around to shoo away unnecessary public crowding.

"There's nothing to worry about. One of our waitresses was just startled after seeing something... unpleasant" See? Nothing to worry about. Shishido noticed the worry lines on the manager's forehead, deepening.

"Enjoy your meal. Good day!"

Manager's troubled eyes met Shishido's...

"Karin!" The manager called out, never breaking the eye contact.

"Yes, sir?"

"Take over Shishido's place"

"Hai!!" A short waitress instantly appeared with a nervous smile on her pale face. She turned her attention to the bewildered costumer, whom Shishido had failed to complete his orders.

"Wha-?"

Before Shishido could say anything, the manager had grabbed him by his right elbow and pulled him along, to the back of the kitchen.

"What's going on, sir?"

"You have some medical experience, am I right?"

Shishido felt bewildered and furrowed his brows. "What? No, I'm just a medical student-" He pointed out, only to be cut off by manager's serious voice.

"What does it matter? Student or not, you know the basics anyways -- out of the way!"  
Shishido's fellow-workers, who were circling something Shishido couldn't see, obeyed without protest.

That's when Shishido found himself staring at a corpse _-a woman clad in a black-white uniform, perhaps a member of some hotel's cleaning staff._ He blanched immediately, but didn't back away from what the manager was aactually asking him silently to do.

"Has anyone called the police yet? Or an ambulance?"

Shishido went on his knees and checked the woman's wrist _-Very cold, she must have frozen to death..._

"Yes, they're one their way"

"Can you please give me some space? The costumers outside need some reassurances! Go keep them low!"

Suddenly Shishido found himself ordering his fellow-workers as he checked the woman's closed eyes _-the pupils were dilated, the color of her eyes was slightly faded..._

"What's her condition?" The manager, who was hovering behind him, inquired nervously, not even noticing the irony in his question. Shishido observed the woman's pale throat _-strangle marks...?_

At last, Shishido let out a sigh and hung his head dejectedly. "... she's murdered..."

A collective gasps and sobs reached his ears. Nothing to worry about, my foot!, Shishido thought bitterly.

**XXX Operation Unsolved part 4 XXX  
**  
"Hoi! 'nee-san, what happened to my newest addition of strawberry toothpaste? I can't find it"

"Isn't it on your washbasin?"

"Unyaa, no, it's not there!"

"Oh, dear. I think your nephew must have taken it along to show his friends"

"Unyaa, why? It's my current favorite one! Why couldn't he take my second favorite one, the apricot one, nya!"

"Eiji, maybe you should have told him not to show your collection of toothpaste to his friends. It's a bit too far"

"Hoi! Then what kind of uncle am I if I don't allow him to show off great toothpaste?"

"... Aa. Ah, Eiji, it's almost 8!"

"Hoi?... Unyaa! I'm late! Tezuka is going to punish me! Unyaa!"

* * *

**9:35 AM  
**  
25 minutes later Kikumaru found himself running errands for his colleagues. He was just finished with the first task Tezuka had punished him for being late and made his way to a café shop to begin his second punishment. He didn't like buying several stuff in different _-specific-_ stores. 

"_Unya_! Tezuka, you're going to pay for this!" Kikumaru scowled as he read over the shopping list which Tezuka had given him. The list contained a series of certain accessories for his colleagues, along with the names of specific places of where to buy the said accessories.

He entered the cafe shop round the corner and took his place at an empty corner near the window. After putting the bag with the office supplies on the chair opposite of his, Kikumaru slumped over his table and started checking off mentally the orders he should make.

"Can I take your order, sir?"

The officer immediately straightened and gave the waitress a big smile.

"Sure! But I'm warning you, it's going to be a long list!"

The waitress didn't seem impressed when Kikumaru noticed no change in the same blank, friendly look on her face. Oh well, it's not like the orders were his.

"2 liters of milk, 25 sandwiches, 10 with ham, cheese, cucumber and chili, 5 with mayonnaise, cheese, extra lettuces, chili, 9 with everything in them without chili pepper, and 1 without ham or chicken. Two cakes, a double chocolate one and a vanilla, butter-creamed one-,"Kikumaru rattled on, ticking his fingers off out of habit whenever he ordered. His grin widened when he noticed the waitress' panicked look on her face. She was trying to keep up with his pace of orders, writing the orders down frantically in her bloc note.

At last, Kikumaru decided to save the poor waitress from more orders _(blame Tezuka for the long list!)_. He graciously thanked the girl for her willingness to take his orders, and gave her the hundred percent effective smile no one seemed to resist. And hundred percent effective it was. The waitress left his table, blushing and giggling to herself.

Kikumaru turned his attention back on his table and somehow found himself staring at superintendent Oishi, who's sitting one table further from his. The superintendent's eyes were wide in surprise and spoke of amusement. He must have noticed him keeping the waitress longer at his smile than any usual costumer, to take the orders. The superintendent offered him a polite smile as a greeting.

The officer waved enthusiastically in response and grinned.

A flash of doubt clouded the superintendent's face, but then he shook his head dismissively. He stood up from his seat, grabbed the folders, which he had been reading a moment ago, with one hand and his cup of hot tea with the other, and made his way towards Kikumaru's table.

"May I sit here?"

"Hoi?" the officer blinked in surprise and hastily pulled the bag with the office supplies from the chair, silently offering the superintendent a seat.

"Thank you," the superintendent smiled politely again. "You must be wondering why I'm sitting here,"

"Hoi! Any personal reasons?" Kikumaru grinned.  
The superintendent let out a small chuckle and leafed open one of the folders in his possession.

"I'd like you to show Tezuka these reports on Herr Schwarzgerald's case. This one in particular might strike him as suspicious,"

"Hoi?"

"Remains of cyanide was found in his stomach and blood circulation. The autopsy confirmed that he's been poisoned around 9 or 10"

"Hoi!" An offhanded comment in a non-committal tone.

"The strange thing is, when the blood results come in," The superintendent said cryptically.

Kikumaru frowned, "Hoi? Blood on the wall? On the carpet? Or in the mirror?"

"Neither of them are his, that's what I've found out this morning. The blood belonged to someone else, or rather to 3 other people,"

Kikumaru kept frowning.

"What's so suspicious about that? All I can relate is that perhaps either one of the 3 people or all 3 had killed him. Unya, but that doesn't seem right. Why spilling their own blood just when Herr Schwarzge-whatever his name is- was already poisoned an hour or two before. I'm assuming they've been present when Herr Schwarz-something felt the poison kicking in, unless there's another person in the picture, nya," he reasoned even if he were getting more confused. He's already having a headache.

Wouldn't it be great to just stamp Herr Schwar- as a suicidal old man and close the case? But his conscience won't accept such a simple conclusion. Kikumaru looked up at the superintendent.

"What do you think, nya?"

"I'm guessing that maybe the minister was being seized by people who wanted to rob him or something. By that time, I'm assuming the arsenic had been spread all over his body. When he was grabbed or something along those lines, he'd struggled, hurting all three in the process and leaving us plenty of evidence that perhaps the cook at the restaurant is the culprit," the superintendent smiled at Kikumaru's bewildered face.

"Hoi! That's pretty--plain, coming from you, sir," He pointed out, and then gasped in surprise, slapping his hand over his mouth immediately.

"I apologize for being rude, sir," The apology came out muffled.

"I try," Oishi grinned instead, referring to Kikumaru's comment.

Oishi's eyes crinkled up so easily that Kikumaru swore he'd seen a dimple on the superintendent's face. He still couldn't see Oishi being Tezuka's best friend during high school. (He'd pried that information out of Tezuka with great difficulty of course or had it been the superintendent who volunteered this information?) Nice guy, Oishi, best friends with Tezuka, Kikumaru's manipulator. It didn't clicked-

"Wa! What a surprise! You're here too!" Before Kikumaru could blink, the hand over his mouth was pulled away and sandwiched between two callused hands after that. _("Hoi?")_ He blinked at the person holding his hands and immediately, his eyes widened.

_"Unya!"_ he let out an automatic, distressed shout.

"Yuushi, is that how you greet people?" the superintendent gave Oshitari a disapproving look and shook his head lightly. He received an evil grin in response from Oshitari.

"No. Only cute officers like Kikumaru here. Aren't you just jealous?" the inspector leered at Kikumaru.

Kikumaru reddened as he squirmed under the evil grin.  
"Unya let go--let go--," Why does it seemed like the inspector was following him around?

"Yuushi-," the superintendent admonished and effortlessly saved the distressed officer from getting more embarrassed than he already was.  
"You're cutting his blood circulation,"

With that last one said, the inspector released the officer, grabbed the nearest chair and scooted closer to Kikumaru's.  
"Don't worry. The only time when your blood circulation is cut, is when I have you all to myself," Oshitari wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and widened his grin to intensify the effect he'd wanted, probably also wanting to hint that there's more meaning in his words.

Of course, the inspector could be--strange when he teased him with such affections but _(dang it!)_ Kikumaru was getting scared already. Something cold ran down his spine and he shuddered.

Oishi took pity of the officer, so he cleared his throat to get Oshitari's attention.

"Inspector, I think you have something you want to share,"

The inspector straightened and gestured to someone hovering near their table. A tall well-dressed (complete in navy blue suit with brown-striped tie) man stepped forward. The most unusual things about him were actually his bandaged forehead and the left arm, which was currently put in a sling.

_Very suspicious._ Kikumaru and the superintendent shared a curious look together.

* * *

**9:55 AM  
**  
Echizen was watching some red-brown-haired guy wearing a hideous blue cap, Shishido, being interrogated by one of the officers. The guy was currently explaining the state in which he'd found the corpse and clued the officer in that he had been the only one who'd touched the body. 

That Shishido guy looked pale, probably from the shock of having found a murdered lady, and his slumped form made it possible for anyone to see how drained he felt.  
_  
'Ch', what a dramatic guy'_ were the first few words that popped out in his mind as soon as Echizen had laid eyes on Shishido. Even if the signs on Shishido's face were actually natural for someone who's never been exposed to a black-white scene before; the scene of life (white) and death (black).

Raking his gingers through his hair frustratingly, Ryoma sighed out a low mumble. His oyaji had, yet again, made him go to this scene even when the Schwarzgerald's case was still open.

He straightened immediately as he watched the paramedics pass him with the body in a duffel bag in their possession. Neither one of the paramedics grazed him with a glance. They just walked past, doing their job.

"Hm, I feel this is getting very peculiar, won't you say so too Echizen?"

Echizen flicked his gaze from the paramedics to the photographer Fuji, who had been walking behind the paramedics holding his camera almost possessively.

It couldn't have been a coincidence finding Fuji near the crime scene as a photographer, could it?  
Echizen didn't believe in coincidences so perhaps, he concluded thoughtfully, the other was stalking him because he was actually new on the job.

"Hmmm," was his response to the smiling Fuji. Neither positive nor negative.  
He stuffed his hands in his trench coat's pockets and turned his attention back to Shishido, the claimed medic-student.

"I think this is pretty suspicious, ne Echizen. It's only been about 2 or 3 days after Herr Schwarzgerald's death,"

"So you've noticed,"

Fuji ignored his sarcastic comment and continued smiling, "And the hotel where Herr Schwarzgerald was staying is just one block away. After seeing her uniform and her identification pin, I'm sure she works there"

"Aa,"

Fuji paused and looked down at the shorter guy, still smiling. Such youthful determination and ignorance. Within a few seconds the itching of wanting to -do it- won his fingers over--Fuji instantly took a picture of the serious, absent-looking Echizen.

"Eh?" Echizen blinked in surprise and shot a glare at Fuji's direction. Fuji only chuckled in satisfaction.

"I thought you were supposed to take pictures of the crime scene,"

"I would like to add you to my--ah, how can I say this?--harem of photos," Fuji drawled amusedly in response and took another photo. However, this time the photo was of Echizen glowering.

The look disappeared as it had appeared and in place came a perfectly blank look. "What about the drama queen? Anything interesting about him?"

"He's a medic student of Hyoutei University. Comes from a not-so-caring family. but overall he doesn't seem to have gotten into any trouble as of yet, since he's started working here part time. According to Inui, Shishido Ryou is actually great friends with the authorities,"

"With whom in particular?"

"He used to go to the same campus with Ohtori Choutarou and Hiyoshi Wakashi,"

* * *

**9:55 AM  
**  
"Why have you brought Inspector Ohtori here? I'm very sure he's under great pressures," Oishi directed a concerned look at the said inspector's arm as soon as Oshitari had pulled a chair for the other. 

Before Oshitari could explain, Ohtori had cut him off immediately.  
"Don't worry sir. I'm quite all right. I'm just here to confess something," he waved lightly at the superintendent, smiling politely as he adjusted the sling round his arm carefully.

Kikumaru looked blankly at the superintendent and then at inspector Ohtori. Something big was going to happen; he just felt it. And it had something to do with either the superintendent or the injured inspector. But what really bothered him was perhaps inspector Oshitari's serious look on his face, as if he was on the verge of exterminating a lawbreaker, when inspector Ohtori spoke up.

"What Ohtori-san's trying to say, sir, is that he knows who had killed Herr Schwarzgerald," Oshitari elaborated--his face darkening.

Both Kikumaru and Oishi straightened in their seats immediately, and stared at Ohtori expectantly.

* * *

**10:00 AM  
**  
Echizen frowned, "Wasn't this Ohtori present at Herr Schwarz's dinner meeting?" 

"That's true," Fuji nodded at the same time and looked over at Shishido.

Echizen followed his gaze, interested in how Shishido fit in the puzzle; the case of Herr Schwarzgerald's murder.

"He's not your natural suspect, but a suspect nonetheless," Fuji pointed out.

"Are the charges against Kaido-sempai cleared yet?" Echizen wondered out of the blue.

"Not yet. But they will be,"

"Who do you think is the killer?"

"Hmm. the same whom you've in mind, Echizen,"

Ryoma stared blankly at Fuji, trying to read off the other's veiled expression on his disinterested, smiling face. How fuji had found out who's the killer Ryoma would probably never know. But even so, there's no real guarantee that they had the same suspect in mind.

Ugh! The old man's going to pay! Why couldn't his father just end this case with evidence he'd whipped out from his ass--erhm--Never-Neverland, like he always did in his other cases?

This work was so time-consuming and gave him throbbing headaches at the end of day too.

"Do you want to meet him?" Fuji spoke up suddenly and without waiting for a reply, he casually strolled down to Shishido. He didn't have to turn around to see if Echizen was following him. He just _-knew-_ the other would follow him.

* * *

**Next morning -- 10:00 AM -- Grand Meeting Room  
**  
A few hours ago the meeting room had been carefully arranged by nearby-stationed officers. The room consisted of one long rectangular desk (which was obviously for the ones who were heading the meeting), several smaller desks (for the people who were supposed to be present), a white board (which was put supposedly at the front of the room for viewing slides) and the projector (for displaying photo slides). 

The door to the meeting room opened. Superintendent Oishi Shuuichirou entered gracefully. He was followed closely by both inspector Ohtori and inspector Oshitari. Behind the two, several other meeting attendants (including officers from different ranks) entered the room. Lastly, Echizen and Fuji followed inside before closing the door behind them.

Superintendent Oishi took his place behind the long rectangular desk, which was presumably made out of mahogany to show off the beautiful rich brown look, and waited patiently for everyone to take their places.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm glad everyone has made it here safely," Oishi began politely while raising his voice for everyone to hear. "Let us see the crime scene please,"

A slide was readied and someone flicked on the light of the projector to show the photo up large on the white board, behind the superintendent. It's a photo of the minister lying on the carpet, face down and dead. A few more slides of the crime scene were shown.

"As you all see, Herr Schwarzgerald had been killed 4 days ago. What can you all tell me?"

Two by two, most of the investigators among the officers stood up to read their notes out loud.

"The autopsy had found substances of poison in his body. It's estimated that he got poisoned during his dinner meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We investigated the restaurant. Nothing seems to be amiss so far,"

"Herr Schwarzgerald arrived at home around 10 or 11. Some neighbours on his floor had passed the Minister in the hall and confirmed that Herr Schwarzgerald didn't look well. By that time, the poison had already been spread,"

"There are 4 people present at the dinner meeting including Minister Gakuto. The others are Herr Schneiders, Kaido Kaoru and inspector Ohtori-,"  
Everyone peered curiously at the rigidly-sitting inspector, who had the privilege to sit beside the superintendent--still with his arm in a sling and a bandaged forehead.

"-Herr Schneiders is Herr Schwarzgerald's personal secretary whom he'd brought along to handle his paperwork. He's been working for the Minister for about 4 years now. Kaido Kaoru, a companion whom Minister Gakuto brought along, is Inui-san's apprentice. We'd narrowed down all 4 of them to 2. It's possible that inspector Ohtori and Kaido Kaoru had been in the crime scene before Herr Schwarzgerald blew his last breath,"

"We ran some blood tests. The results are that 3 different people had been around to witness the Minister's death. 2 of the samples confirmed Kaido Kaoru and Ohtori Choutarou's presences. The third one, however, belonged to someone--someone not from the authorities. It belonged to Aoyama Saori--the one whose body had been found dead near the cafe shop's alley,"

**End Operation Unsolved 4  
**  
**- oyaji -- 'father', Ryoma calls his father oyaji in an impolite way.  
- Herr -- I forgot to mention that "Herr" is German and it's used in front of a man's name. **

TheNekoTalks:

**1.** I know that some of the medic studies require a lot of knowing stuff at heart. Knowing Shishido's favorite subject is History, which also requires a lot of knowing facts at heart, I thought he would probably make a good medical student -a medical student who needs a part-time job to pay for his school.  
**2.** The partnership between Tezuka and Kikumaru, is pretty interesting to explore, so it gets a bit wacky in the later chapters. **XP** It almost looks as if Tezuka's bullying poor Eiji. First with writing report and now, running several errands... **:laughs: **  
**3.** Oshitari strikes me as someone who's not really serious and likes to give everyone smiles (and the creeps if he wanted) to provoke them. Somehow he sound a bit like Niou... **:frowns:**  
**4.** The last scene--err--I couldn't think of a better name for that name **:sweatdrops:** And I like to add that 'two by two' comment. Officers (investigators) require to work in pairs, so they need to work together if they wanted to do their jobs right. That's what I've noticed.

Special thanks goes to **Yoshikochan** (because you're** :hearts:** very nice and because **:hearts:** your writing is actually better than mine so I hope you'll keep up!!) and the **"Bayside Shakedown II"** movie.

**Thank you for reading!! Happy Late Holidays! Hope everyone had fun the last few days! and I'm sorry for the long notes :sweats: **

:Smiley face: cin


End file.
